Crown closure lining machine



1950 D. L. SHANKLIN ETAL 2,524,545

CROWN CLOSURE 1.1mm MACHINE Original Filed Oct'. 21, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NvE; N :3 RS J/ E 1 l 6,0 Dunbar L. Shank/in Richard P. sf-o'kes E l qoAm-L 031 A-H y 1950 D. L. SHANKLIN ETAL 2,524,545

CROWN CLOSURE LINING MACHINE Original Filed Oct. 21, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEZN'FC! R33 E l 4 E m Dunbar- L. Shank/in Richard P Sfo i 03 \e -loB0u QM A-*+y Patented a. 3, 1950 2,524,545 CROWN CLOSURE LINING momma Dunbar L. Shanklin, Winchester, and Richard P. Stokes, Maiden, Masa, assignors to Dewey and Almy Chemical Company, North Cambridge, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Original application October 21, 1942, Serial No. 462,802. Divided and this application October 2, 1947, Serial No. 777,538

3 Claims. (Ci. 91-43) This invention relates to a high speed, automatic machine for lining skirted closures and more particularly bottle crowns and caps according to the process claimed in the patent to Charles H. Egan, No. 1,956,012.

The function of the machine is to feed unlined crowns beneath nozzles which inject a liquid composition into the crowns, spin the crowns until the liquid composition has been banked against the vertical crown walls and then pass the crowns on to the belt of a drying apparatus where the liquid is evaporated from the composition and the composition is dried to form a distortable rubber-like seal which effectually closes a glass container in an hermetic manner.

The objects of the invention are to produce a machine capable oi? handling large, numbers oi. crowns in a rapid and effective manner, perform the lining operations automatically, produce a machine which will not stop or be placed out of order if the sealing compound accidentally misses a crown and squirts into the machine parts, and

produce a machine which will line crowns in auniform manner to maintain close tolerances.

This application is a division of our co-pending application Serial Number 462,802, filed October 21, 1942 (now Patent No. 2,442,179, dated May 25, 1948), and the invention claimed herein relates especially to the arrangement for the simultaneous operation of the valves of a plurality oi lining nozzles and the arrangement whereby one or more nozzles may be locked-out or prevented i'rom operating at any time. Other constructions embodied in our machine are being claimed in co-pending applications Serial Numhers 539,659, filed June 10, 1944, now Patent No.

2,4 %,232, issued June 29, 1948, and 539,660, filed June 10,. 19%.

The structure embodying the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a rear elevation of the crown lining machine, with the table top being shown in vertical section along the plane of the axes oi the crown-rotating chucks;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in rear elevation, and partly in section, of the right end of Figure 1 showing the details of the valve operating arrangement for one or the lining nozzles; and Figure 3 is a plan view of Figure 2.

General organization The machine for applying the lining compound comprises a table-like casting 35 having a base it, side members 32 and a top or table it. The

crowns are fed to the machine from a crown sorting and feeding mechanism of any conventional type. This mechanism serves to aim the.

Y properly spaced relation to provide a receiving chamber into which the crowns are discharged from the chute it and a channel through which the crowns are moved forward by the feed slide 35. The feed slides 55 move the crowns from the receiving chambers to rotary chucks it; These chucks rotate the crowns while the compound is squirted into them from nozzles N. When the crowns have been lined they are stripped from the chucks and moved forward through ways or tracks by stripper fingers to a group of distributing guides, by which they are placed on a conveyor belt and carried to the dryer. Since the arrangements for feeding the crowns to the chucks and for removing lined crowns from the chucks form no part Of the present invention? the details are not given here but are fully disclosed in our co-pending application M2802, filed October 21, 1942, now Patent No. 2,442,179, issued May 25, 1948.

Chucks and chuck drive The chucks it rotate continuously. Each chuck is provided in its upper face'with a shallow counterbore ltd and communicating therewith is an axial bore ltl. Each chuck is carried on a spindle 152 which is provided throughout its length with an axial bore will that is aligned with axial bore lit and counterbor lid of the chuck. Each spindle is mounted in ball bearings ltd which are fastened in the spindle beam m5. Each spindle mi enters vacuum chest ltt, through sleeve bearings I51. The chest ltt which acts as a spilled compound sump, is'provioled with cleanout plugs 25 and a removable cover. Rods it extending between the table top it and the chest the form guides on which the beam W5 is mounted and along which it reciprocates vertically. The vertical motion of the spindle beam- 955 is derived from the cams W2 and lit carried on shaft iii. Each cam works against a cam follower assembly which comprises a cam follower i it carried by a spring biased arm lit pivoted on the main frame at lit and atgears I are driven by a tached at IIB to the adjustable beam push rods 1. As shaft I I2 revolves, the spindle beam 405,

and. consequently, all of the chucks 30, will rise and fall. Each spindle bears a vertically movable gear I20 which meshes with fixed gears I2 I. The gear I22 meshing with at least one of the gears I2I and carried on the shaft I23 which is journaled in a special extension I24 of the vacuum chest I00. The lower end of shaft i23 bears a bevel pinion I20, which meshes with the bevel gear' I26 carried on. the shaft E0. The shaft I0 is driven by gears 22 from the shaft H2 which is itself driven by a motor through a chain 23 and a sprocket carried by shaft H2.

The vertical motion of the chucks 30 is in timed relation to the movement of the feed slides 35. The chucks remain down throughout most of the forward strokes of the feed slides. Upon advance of the feed slides. the stripper fingers pass above the chucks 36 and sweep the lined crowns off and into the ways, while'the feed slides push the next crowns through the channels and onto the chuck faces.

The crowns are pushed nearly to their final positions on the chucks by the feed slides. They are guided into final position by the vertical walls I of the counterbora I00. Each crown is seated on the circular edge formed at the junction of the counterbore I00 and the axial bore WI, and when seated, shuts off the flow of air into the chuck.

The nozzles N differ but slightly from nozzles used on can end lining machines. Each consists of a stainless steel body I30 having a replaceable nose piece I3I, a needle I32 and a spring barrel I33. A spring I34 bears against a collar supported by a shoulder on the needle and normally urges the needle against a ground seat in the nose piece. Lining compound is prevented from entering the spring housing by the diaphragm I35. The immediate supply of lining compound is stored in a tank I36 and delivered through a tube 20, to'the manifold I31 and from the manifold through tubes I! to the nozzles N by a pneumatic head of a few pounds derived from the compremor I38. Manifold I31 issupported by brackets I8 secured to a cross rail I0 which is itself adjustably supported by brackets I50 and I60 secured to opposite sides of the table 30. When the needle I32 is raised in the nozzle N, a stream of compound is shot downwardly. With the pneumatic head and diameter of the orifice in the nose piece I3I fixed, the quantity of compound which the nozzle delivers is controlled by the lift of the needle. Adjustment of needle lift is secured by means of handwheels I40, I which are in threaded engagement with needle pull rods I42, the upper handwheels I4I serving merely as lock nuts, while the lower handwheels I40 make the actual adjustment.

zmzwwugi lock-Out A slide rod I43 on the needle lift bar I44 which is slidably mounted in lift bar I44 beneath cover plates I44 operates a number of latches I45. Latches I45 are provided with apertures I46 through which the needle pull rods I42 pass. The apertures I46 are keyhole shaped so that they clear the needle pull rods I42 but engage the bottom face e of the needle adjusting handwheels I40 when the latches I45 are in their operating positions shown most clearly in Figures 2 and 3. Each of the latches I45 is provided with an upstanding handle I41 which is received between the arms of a fork I40 secured t the slide rod I43. Handles I41 carry spring pressed balls I40 which are adapted to engage either one of two notches a formed in a portion of the needle lift bar I44. The notches g are spaced to limit the movement of the latch to its operative and inoperative positions. When either handle I50 of the slide rod I43 is moved toward the right, the enlarged portions of the apertures I46 of the latches I45 then clear the shank portions j of the adjusting handwheels I40 and all of the needles are then rendered inoperative. However. any one of the latches may be actuated independently to render its corresponding needle operative or inoperative by manipulation of one of the handles I41. For example, in Figure 1, the handle M1 is shown in position. to render the latch l45' inoperative while the remainder of the latches are in their operative positions. It will be understood that the shank portions f of the handwheels I40 constitute adjustable abutments carried by the rods I42 and these abutments seat upon the latches I45 in one position of the latches so that the rods I42 are reciprocated with the lift bar I44.

The vertical movement of the needle lift bar I44 is secured by motion derived from cams I55 and I56 mounted on the opposite outboard ends of the shaft H2. The cam motion is transmitted through cam followers 9 and I0, and connecting rods I2 and I3 to the beam push rods I51 and I58 which are guided for vertical movement in sleeves carried by the brackets I59 and I60 previously referred to. Springs, surrounding the push rods and mounted between the table 30 and a collar I4 on the rods, urge the cam followers 9 and I0 into continuous contact with their respective cams. When the shaft II2 revolves, the needle beam I44 is raised and lowered in timed relation to the other operations of the machine.

As previously explained, the crowns, when seated on the chucks 36, form an efi'ectual seal which prevents the passage of air through the chucks 36 and the chuck spindles I02. By connecting a vacuum pump with the vacuum chest I06 by means of a tube I a continuous current of air is pulled through the chucks. Thus when a crown is moved onto the face of a chuck it is pulled into position in the counterbore by the vacuum which is created.

The needles I32 and chucks 35 lift practically at the same moment and just before the chuck and the crown which it holds, reaches its top position, the compound fiows into the crown. Then the needle lift oar I44 falls, the nozzles close and the flow of compound to all crowns stops before the chucks begin to descend. The loaded crowns spin in the raised position after the flow of compound stops. The rotary speed of the chuck is set to create a centrifugal force greater than the yield value of the lining composition 50 that the compound squirted into the center of the crown is banked against its vertical walls. The cross section of a lined crown (Figure 2) shows the type of lining which is secured by this operation. The entire inner surface of the crown is covered with compound which is materially thinner in the center, or non-sealing portion, and thicker at the edges where a mass of sealing material is required to form a plastic seat for the open end of a bottle or other container.

After the lining has been formed as described, the chuck falls, the feed slides 35 and stripper fingers begin to advance and the machine begins a second cycle of operation.

Although the machine has been described as "a crown lining machine," andcrowns of the familiar type have been illustrated, it is obvious that the machine is equally well adapted to the lining of skirted container closures of any type and we intend that the word "crown as used in the specification and claims shall include skirted closures generally.

We claim:

1. In a machine for lining closures, the combination of a plurality of rotary chucks, a lining compound applying nozzle associated with each chuck and having a needle movable therein to open or close its outlet, a horizontal lift bar mounted for vertical reciprocation, operating rods extending from the needles through the lift bar and slidable therethrough, an abutment on each rod on the opposite side of the bar from the needle, and latch members on the bar individually movable into or out of position for the seating of said abutments upon said latch members. whereby said rods are reciprocated-by said lift bar.

2. In a machine for lining closures, the combination of a plurality of rotary chucks, a lining compound applying nozzle associated with each chuck, and having a needle movable therein to open or close its outlet, a horizontal lift bar mounted for vertical reciprocation, operating rods extending from the needles through the lift bar and slidable therethrough, an abutment'on each rod on the opposite side of the bar from the needle, latch members on the bar individually movable into or out of position for the seat- 1113 of said abutments upon said latch members, whereby said rods are reciprocate-d by said lift bar. and means for simultaneously moving all of the latch members into or out of seating position.

3. In a machine for lining closures, the combination of a plurality of rotary chucks, a lining compound applying nozzle associated with each chuck and having a needle movable therein to open or close its outlet, an operating member common to all of the said needles, means mounting said operating member adjacent said needles for reciprocation in a direction parallel to the axes of said needles, and individually latched members carried by said operating member and connecting said needles to said reciprocating member for reciprocation therewith, said latch members being individually movable out of latching position whereby any desired needle may be llle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 615,725 Lindemeyr Dec. 13, 1898 1,639,118 Troyer et al Aug. 16, 1927 1,738,612 Recht Dec. 10, 1929 

